DISCLAIMER: Pretty Little Liars and all its characters is the intellectual property of others. Some characters used in the writing of this fic belong to PLL. Events that transpire, will transpire and have transpired in this story are entirely of my own creation.
I know this chapter has been long overdue. Apologies. Thanks for the concern and the patience over the past few weeks. I can't say when the next chapter will be posted. I'm still busy with work and there's been a big change in my life quite recently so I hope you readers will understand. I promise I'm not abandoning this story and I will try my best to update when I'm not so swamped at work. I'll just post an excerpt of the next chapter on Tumblr the week that I can update the story so that most, if not all of you, will know when the fic will be updated.
Again, thanks for the reviews! (that have recently turned into requests and demands lol.)
Bobx7, ScriptedLullabies, PamyNovaes, buzidoo, Nae10, Falitag07, augustmelon, Drives-me-crazy, frfusch21, Rachel Manlop and mack3948... Thanks for the PM.
Now if all of you could just indulge me before reading this chapter, I'd like to take this opportunity to say a few words to a girl who's been nothing but sweet, supportive, patient and understanding that I'm lucky that I get to call her my girlfriend.
Tin...
So I've always believed in fate, hence the title of my first fic, Kismet. And like you, I also believe that you don't find love, it finds you. I've always wondered why I started writing. When people ask me about it, I can't seem to give them an answer that I am satisfied with. Because it was completely out of the blue. Just one, ordinary day, I decided to write a Paily story last year that, to my surprise, caught a lot of people's attention. Including yours.
I've always believed in fate. And now I finally found my answer. The reason I started writing. I'd like to believe it was so fate could find a way to bring us together. Because up until a few months ago, we've led such different lives that's why I know that this is fate's way of making our worlds collide. Thank you. For saying yes last night. To making you happy and being part of my life. And thank you. For making me happy and letting me into yours.
-Snowballs to EyeOpener16-
PART TWO: "Sic Infit"
~ So it begins. ~
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Paige pulled open the door of her cabinet cautiously, wincing when it made a squeaking sound. She turned her head to the left and peeked inside her room to see if the girl sleeping on her bed was awoken by the sound. Certain that Emily was still asleep, Paige returned her gaze in front of her, the sliver of yellow light coming from the slightly opened bathroom door behind her the only source of light she had. She grabbed a change of clothes and placed them in her duffel bag before closing the cabinet door, heading back inside her bedroom when she was done and looking around in the dark, trying to see if she was forgetting anything else. When Paige was sure that she had everything she needed, she walked over to Emily's side of the bed and debated whether or not to wake up the girl or just leave a note.
The faint moonlight streaming in from her bedroom window made Paige smile as she gazed at Emily's perfect features. She watched the rise and fall of the girl's chest and her mind recalled what happened last night, making her smile turn to one of awe. Paige lowered her bag on the floor next to her and knelt on the side of her bed, tenderly brushing a few strands of hair away from Emily's face before leaning forward to kiss the girl's forehead softly. She held her breath when Emily stirred from her sleep, waiting for the girl to open her eyes and look at her.
"Hey." Emily uttered, her voice a little raspy. She shifted from her position and rubbed an eye sleepily, trying to get her bearings. "What time is it?" She asked when she noticed the darkness in the room.
"Almost five." Paige answered before grazing Emily's forehead and leaning forward to kiss the girl on the same spot.
Emily creased her brows. "Are you going out for a run or did you just come back from one?" She asked when she noticed that Paige was wearing a tracksuit once her eyes got accustomed to the dark.
"Neither. Although I do have to leave." Paige added, her hand moving to rest on Emily's waist. "I forgot to tell you last night that I have a meet all day today in New York so I have to meet my teammates outside Penn Park in thirty minutes." She continued apologetically. "Sorry if I woke you up. I just wanted to say goodbye rather than leave a note. Go back to sleep."
Emily shook her head and slowly got up, moving a little to make room for Paige to sit next to her. "I'm going back to campus with you." She decided, running a hand through her hair to comb it. "I have a workshop for MARC at eight and my things are back in my room."
"I'll drive you back to Harrison." Paige offered. "Don't say no." She added when she saw Emily open her mouth to protest. "I don't mind swinging by your college house. I'll be late for a couple of minutes, five at most but it's not a big deal. I just want to make sure that you get back to your room safe."
"I wasn't going to say no. I was going to say thank you." Emily said, smiling. "What time are you getting back from New York? I can leave the workshop early, meet you outside Penn Park?"
"How about I pick you up from the MUSE building instead once I get back?" Paige suggested. "I don't want you to stand in the cold just to wait for me. If your workshop ends before I get back, I'll meet you in Harrison instead. I promise not to be super late in picking you up this time." She added when she saw Emily hesitate. "I'll call you. Just don't forget to charge your phone before you go to the workshop."
"Funny." Emily uttered, smiling wryly. "Fine. Come pick me up or I'll text you if I'm done before you're back."
"Okay." Paige said in agreement, smiling back at the girl.
The two of them stared at each other in silence, trying to think of something else to say. Emily felt her cheeks growing warm when her mind drifted to what she did last night and she swallowed hard. Maybe it was the occasion yesterday, or the emotional state they were both in... maybe it was because of the words Paige said to her, or everything that happened from the moment the girl handed the bouquet of flowers to her in the hallway, but now, sitting here next to Paige, she suddenly felt self-conscious when she thought about what happened in the shower.
Paige studied Emily, letting her eyes drink in every inch of the girl's features. She still couldn't believe they took a shower last night. Granted it was a cold one but still... it was one they took together. And she didn't want the girl to shy away from what they did. "Everything about you is beautiful." She said earnestly when she noticed that Emily seemed to be getting uncomfortable sitting next to her. "And I meant what I said last night. We don't have to do anything. Just because we've seen each other naked for the first time doesn't mean I expect you to sleep with me right away."
Emily nodded, touched by Paige's words. "Everything about you is beautiful too." She whispered, cradling the girl's cheek before leaning forward and kissing Paige softly.
"Will you stop grinning? We lost." Reese reminded her friend, scowling as she followed Paige once the girl boarded the bus that afternoon.
Paige shrugged and headed for the seat they occupied on their way to New York earlier that day, automatically scooting near the window so Reese could sit next to her.
"You look like that cat from Alice in Wonderland." Reese continued once she was seated next to Paige. "Wipe that stupid grin off your face!"
"Come on, Reese. I wouldn't call placing third a loss." Paige pointed out, rolling her eyes at her friend. "Don't worry about it too much. There's still a few indoor track meets left."
"Why are you in such a good mood?!" Reese grumbled.
"Why are you in such a foul mood?" Paige shot back. "Now you know how I felt two weeks ago."
"Oh my god you got back together with Emily!" Reese exclaimed, pointing a finger at Paige accusingly. "That's why you said you had last-minute plans yesterday!"
Paige moved Reese's finger away from her. "First, careful where you point that thing. You almost blinded me. And second, don't look so shocked." She added wryly.
"Sorry. Just... are you sure about your decision?" Reese asked, giving Paige a worried look.
Paige nodded. "I am." She answered, the smile back on her lips again when she remembered everything about last night. "I really am. I have a feeling things between us are going to be different this time. Better."
"Uh-huh." Reese muttered, obviously not believing what her friend just said.
"Don't jinx my relationship with your negativity!" Paige reprimanded the girl. "You know, you shouldn't have binged on junk food last night. You're in a really cranky mood today. You should eat some chocolate or ice cream or anything with sugar once we get back to campus. Maybe you'd be in a better mood afterwards."
"I didn't drown my sorrows on junk food last night." Reese protested indignantly. "Believe me I was tempted until I realized I didn't want to feel sluggish today and I didn't want to binge on my own. But after today maybe I will. I'd ask you to join me but you can't seem to wipe that grin off your face it's annoying."
Paige's grin grew wider. "Sorry." She uttered, trying to look serious but failing miserably. "Don't mind me." She added when she saw Reese roll her eyes at her. She turned to face the window instead, her eyes on the passing scenery but her mind on coming home to Emily.
Looking around the semi-littered floor, Emily searched for any other pieces of trash to pick up before she closed the garbage bag she was holding so she could throw it away. The workshop for the MARC event on Friday was done for the day and she, along with some members of MUSE, decided to stay to clean up. Paige called her earlier and said she was on her way back from New York so Emily decided to help while waiting for Paige to arrive.
"There are some scraps of paper behind you." Emily looked up when she heard Gary's voice and turned around to see where the girl was pointing. She crouched and collected the unevenly-cut strips of paper, throwing everything in the garbage bag before getting up when she was sure that the rest of the litter on the ground were still reusable since someone else was going to pick those up.
"Thanks." Emily said, turning around to face Gary as she secured the contents of the garbage bag by tying the end into a knot.
Gary nodded and looked around, waiting for one of the members to clean the rest of the litter around Emily before striking a conversation with the girl.
"I didn't get a chance to congratulate you on the success of the team-building event last week." Gary began before she took the garbage bag from Emily. "Thanks for not screwing it up. I knew I made the right call, assigning that activity to you at the last minute."
Emily gave the girl a small smile. "To tell you the truth I was really nervous when Zach told me about the last-minute change in plans. But he's been supportive the whole time and he and the members under Chelsea were really helpful. Plus Chelsea already took care of most of the details so taking over the event wasn't that hard." She admitted.
"Well regardless, a few officers were impressed with the way you handled the event and come your sophomore year, I think they're going to be interested in grooming you to be their successor." Gary revealed as she placed the garbage bag with the other piles of trash in one corner.
"Actually I wanted to be involved in events organizing." Emily confessed. "It's something I want to pursue as a possible career once I graduate."
Gary's eyebrows raised in mild surprise. "I see. Well you should be more involved with the Promotions and Web committee then. Come fall semester you should talk to either Corrine or Vince." She said, nodding her head towards a girl and a guy carrying a large box between them. "One of them is going to be the head of that committee next year. I can tell them you're interested if you want? Put in a good word for you before I graduate this spring."
"You don't have to do that." Emily said, giving Gary a forced smile and shaking her head firmly. "But thanks for the offer."
Gary nodded. "So are you excited for your first MARC event this Friday?" She asked in an effort to shift the conversation.
"I am. And also a little nervous." Emily admitted.
Gary smiled. "Don't be. You're going to have a blast once you're surrounded by all those executives from well-known companies. I myself am planning to mingle with as many well-connected people as possible. This being my last year, I want to make sure there's a job waiting for me once I graduate." She explained, nodding her head in acknowledgment to a few members who waved at her as they left the building. "Zach's probably going to be president next year."
"Yeah he told me that. He's pretty excited about it. And not at all humble might I add." Emily continued wryly.
"Humble he's not." Gary said in agreement. "But I don't think he's arrogant or conceited at all. He's just self-assured. Knows what he wants and goes for it. That's why I took him under my wing when he joined. He's like me. Only with male body parts of course." She hurriedly added before laughing.
Emily weirdly found herself laughing with the girl when a mental image of Zach dressed as Gary crossed her mind. "Sorry." She said when she saw Gary's surprised look.
"No. Don't be. I was just surprised. I think this is the first time you laughed at something I said." Gary explained. "Come to think of it, this is actually the first time I've seen you look relaxed around me. I've been keeping my distance. I know you're still a little uncomfortable whenever I'm around and I can't exactly blame you."
Emily gave the girl an apologetic look. "Sorry. Zach's been trying to get me to change my mind about you but..."
"I came on too strong." Gary finished for the girl. "I know. He's been telling me that ever since I started pursuing you but I wouldn't listen to him. Not that it matters now because you're with Paige. Right?"
"Right." Emily repeated, nodding her head firmly.
"Well your ride is here." Gary announced, looking past Emily. "And you didn't have to wait long this time. I think she's been standing there for quite a while."
Emily turned around and saw Paige waiting for her, the girl leaning casually against the passenger side of the car as she watched them. When Paige gave her a small wave, Emily waved in return before turning around to face Gary. "She was already on her way here from a track meet in New York so I decided to wait for her and help with the clean up instead of go back to Harrison." She explained, moving past Gary to grab her things from the long table.
"Got it. Oh. Hey. There's a GA on Monday by the way." Gary informed the girl as she watched Emily gather her things. "We couldn't hold it on Tuesday like we usually do since most of the officers have exams that night. It's not going to take long. Just a few reminders about the event on Friday."
"Okay. I'll be here Monday night." Emily promised before walking past Gary, in a hurry to get to where Paige was waiting for her.
"I'm not jealous." Paige repeated as she walked beside Emily once they got off the elevator on the twelfth floor of Harrison a few minutes later. "I'm not!" She insisted when she saw Emily smirk.
"For the last time. Gary was just congratulating me for the success of the team-building event last week. Then we started talking about other things." Emily explained while trying to search for her keys inside her shoulder bag.
"Things that made you laugh with her apparently." Paige added before she could stop herself. "I'm not jealous!" She exclaimed when Emily stopped what she was doing to look at her.
"I laughed because Gary said that Zach was like a version of her. Only with male body parts." Emily added, waiting for Paige to laugh. "Never mind. You had to be there to find the humor in it." She continued when the girl just kept staring at her.
"Great. Now the two of you have inside jokes!" Paige complained, rolling her eyes. "Oh Gary, that's so funny. Say it again." She mocked, doing an awful imitation of Emily and laughing flirtatiously.
"I don't laugh like that!" Emily protested indignantly and tried to hit Paige's arm but the girl moved out of her reach. "And I would never say that to Gary. You should've come up to us when you got there. Not watch us from afar like some PI."
"I wanted to see if she would still hit on you even if she saw us together already." Paige explained. "I mean... she knows we're together. Right? She didn't know that we broke up for two weeks and that we just got back together last night?"
"Yeah." Emily answered. "Paige no one knew about our breakup. It's not like I was going around telling people we were over."
"I told Reese." Paige admitted. "And she knows we're back together. I couldn't stop grinning the whole time I was in New York. Even after we lost. Are you mad?"
"That you couldn't stop grinning while you were in New York?" Emily asked teasingly. "No. I'm not mad that you told Reese." She reassured the girl. "But will you please stop with the jealousy? Gary has hardly paid any attention to me ever since I joined MUSE. Except for that one time that she offered to give me a ride home. She's harmless now." Emily added before grabbing the keys inside her bag. "Paige we took a shower together last night." She said in a low voice when she saw the girl frown. "I'm not interested in showing those body parts to other girls when I barely had the courage to show them to you."
Paige suddenly grinned. "They were great body parts by the way." She said, keeping her voice low when a few students walked past them. "Really great."
Emily felt her cheeks redden and she quickly unlocked the door, leading the way inside.
"So this is your room." Paige said as she followed the girl inside the room Emily shared with Spencer and closed the door behind her.
"This is my room." Emily affirmed. "And Spencer's." She hurriedly added, turning around to face Paige and smiling shyly.
"Of course." Paige said, smiling in return. "And which one's your bed?" She asked as she looked at the two beds back and forth nervously.
Emily walked towards the bed near the window. "This one." She replied, standing next to it.
"Right." Paige uttered before taking a small step further inside the room. "Should've known that from the vision board." She continued, pointing to the illustration board propped on the wall beside the window.
"I'll be quick. I just need to grab a few things and we can be on our way." Emily explained, heading for her dresser to get some clothes and put it inside her overnight bag.
Paige walked over to Emily's bed and collapsed on top of it, smiling when her face hit one of Emily's pillows and she smelled the girl's shampoo on it. She turned over and stared at the immaculate ceiling. "Take your time. I'm not in a hurry to leave." She said, closing her eyes and listening to Emily move around the room.
Emily stopped what she was doing and turned around to study Paige. "Are you okay?" She asked, her brows creasing in concern when she saw the girl lying on her bed with Paige's hands resting behind her head.
Paige moved her head up and down without opening her eyes. "Just tired." She admitted. "The meet was brutal. Reese was in a foul mood because we placed third. And we were sitting together and I was still grinning despite losing so that made her even more annoyed."
Emily bit her bottom lip, trying to decide on something. If Paige was this tired maybe it'd be better if the girl didn't drive back to her apartment tonight. "You know... Spencer is away for the weekend with Connor." She began as she slowly walked over to Paige.
"Is that right?" Paige said in reply, opening her eyes a little and grinning up at Emily.
"Yeah. And she probably won't be back until Sunday afternoon." Emily continued, taking the hand Paige extended to her.
"Really." Paige uttered, intertwining their hands and gently pulling Emily closer until the girl had no choice but to rest one knee on the bed.
"Yeah. So we have the room to ourselves." Emily stated, getting on the bed and resting her hands on either side of Paige so she was hovering a few inches above the girl. She smiled when Paige reached out and started playing with her hair. "If you want to spend the night here with me of course."
"You don't think Spencer's going to mind if I slept on her bed?" Paige asked, playing innocent and looking up at Emily worriedly.
"Why do you want to sleep on her bed?" Emily said in reply, confused.
"My bed is bigger than yours." Paige pointed out. "How are we going to fit in this?"
Emily shrugged. "Let's find out." She answered before moving to lie down next to the girl, the size of her bed forcing them to move closer to each other.
"Well it's safe to say that my bed is better than yours. In terms of size. Not thread count." Emily corrected hurriedly as she stared right back into Paige's twinkling brown eyes.
"Why?" Paige asked, seemingly puzzled.
"You really don't know?" Emily replied, creasing her brows dubiously.
Paige rolled her eyes. "Of course I know. I just want to know why you think it's better." She said, her gaze traveling to Emily's lips meaningfully.
Emily laughed. "I see. Well I think you'll understand it better if I showed you." She answered in a low voice, moving a little closer to kiss Paige on the cheek. "So we can do this." She said before kissing Paige softly on the lips. "And this. And this." Emily continued as she placed a light kiss on Paige's neck, chuckling when she heard the girl's breath hitch.
"Ah I do like your bed much better." Paige said hoarsely.
"So you're fine with sleeping here tonight?" Emily asked timidly.
Paige nodded. "So long as Spencer doesn't come back suddenly and walk in on us rounding third base I am fine with it." She replied.
Emily felt her cheeks flush. "Oh. You think you're going to get to third base with me tonight?" She shot back, seemingly offended.
Paige shrugged. "Second will do. I mean, we do need to sleep, like, beside each other. Like really, really close. Like this." She said as she snaked her arm around Emily's waist, pulling the other girl closer to her. "And you know I can't help it if my hands start to wander..."
"Under the covers!" Emily interjected, her eyes widening.
"Under the covers. Of course." Paige promised, smiling as she brought her hand to brush a strand of hair away from Emily's eyes. "You know I wasn't being serious about doing anything, right? I'm fine with just sleeping next to you. I just want to hold you close." She whispered, caressing the other girl's face.
"I know." Emily answered. It was one of the things that she liked in the girl so much. Ever since the night she kissed Paige under the rain for the first time, the girl has done nothing but put her first. And she was starting to realize that it was one of the things that made Paige so desirable for her. "But that is so high school." She continued as she moved closer to the girl, their breaths almost mingling.
"And we're in college." Paige uttered, her eyes traveling to Emily's lips again.
"We're so in college." Emily affirmed before closing the distance between them and meeting Paige's soft lips with hers.
Emily creased her brows as she concentrated on typing the final sentences of the paper she was writing for her Ancient Economies class, glancing once a while at the girl who was lying on her bed, moving her head in time to the music that was playing on the speakers.
"You look happy." Emily observed before returning her attention to her laptop screen and typing a few more sentences. "Must be the band." She added, pertaining to the music playing from Paige's iPod which was docked to her speakers.
Paige stopped bobbing her head in time to the music to look at Emily. "I love Passion Pit. But you and I both know they're not the reason I'm happy right now." She said, smiling at the girl.
After a couple of hours of making out on her bed, Emily heard Paige's stomach growl so she teasingly told the girl that they should probably stop and have dinner since she had a paper to write for one of her classes anyway. Paige offered to order dinner for them and promised to be on her best behavior for the rest of the night or until the girl finished her paper. Emily lent Paige a change of clothes this time and they had a few slices of pizza for dinner when it arrived before she began writing her paper. Paige has been lying on the girl's bed, just listening to the music and the sound of Emily's laptop keys as the girl typed away from her spot in the study table.
"Sorry I don't have a TV so you had no choice but to listen to music." Emily said, pausing to look at the girl apologetically.
Paige shook her head. "I don't mind. I like watching you be all studious and hot over there." She said, grinning.
"And... done." Emily declared with a flourish when she was done typing the last sentence for her paper. She clicked on the print button and watched as the machine next to her laptop spewed out several pages of the paper she wrote, glad that she was able to write it tonight instead of tomorrow. "Do you mind going over this?" She asked, gathering the sheets of paper and looking at Paige nervously. "Just to see if it makes sense. You can say no if you're too tired."
"I'm not too tired for you." Paige reassured the girl. "But I'd rather listen to you read it to me instead. Just so I could hear your voice."
Emily pursed her lips. "Okay." She finally answered, getting in on the bed when Paige moved to make room for her in the tight space. She cleared her throat and scanned the pages as Paige settled next to her, the girl's chin resting lightly on her shoulder as Paige tried to see the paper she wrote. "Here goes nothing." Emily began, taking a deep breath before launching into a monologue. "Archaeological interpretations are built on many types of evidence. While no one method or analysis can fully reveal an extinct economic system, we can..."
Emily continued reading her paper until she felt Paige's head on her shoulder getting heavy and she stopped, glancing at the girl seated next to her on the bed.
"I guess that's your way of telling me that my paper's boring." Emily said teasingly. "But at least it's like reading a bedtime story to you."
Paige lifted her head from Emily's shoulder and felt her cheeks growing warm. "Sorry." She said sheepishly.
Emily shook her head and slightly turned her body to face Paige. "Don't be. We should probably go to bed anyway." She said when she looked past the girl and noticed the time on her bedside table. It was almost 12 midnight. "You had a long day today. You should rest."
"I promise I'll read your paper first thing tomorrow." Paige said as she watched Emily get up to turn off the lights. She leaned towards the girl's bedside table to turn on the lamp, illuminating the room in a soft yellow glow.
Emily walked over to the side of the bed near the window and slipped under the covers when Paige moved to make room for her again. When Paige was sure that Emily has settled in, she turned off the lamp, casting the room into darkness, the only source of light they have is the moonlight streaming in from the window.
Paige touched the side of Emily's face when she realized that the girl was facing her, tucking loose strands of hair behind Emily's ear. She met the girl's gaze and smiled. Emily's the most amazing girl she ever laid eyes on.
"What?" Emily uttered, her voice hoarse. She knew her cheeks were flushed with the way the other girl was looking at her.
Paige shook her head before pulling Emily close to her. "You make me so happy." She whispered candidly.
Emily's lips curled into a smile, touched by Paige's words and the way the girl said it. She moved to caress Paige's smooth cheek. "You make me happy too." She admitted.
So happy that Emily didn't want to share the girl with the rest of the world, afraid that they would take Paige away. Emily knew the thought that crossed her mind just now was selfish. But when Paige holds her in her arms, she really wished that the outside world would just disappear. Like tonight. Emily instinctively turned her back to Paige when the girl moved to rest her hand on her waist, like it was something they've been doing for quite some time.
Paige moved closer to Emily when the girl rested her hand on top of hers and leaned her head closer to Emily's hair. She breathed in the scent of the girl's shampoo and deposited a soft kiss on Emily's head before closing her eyes, welcoming sleep while holding the girl in her arms.
"There's nothing you would change." Emily repeated for the fourth time, giving Paige a dubious look. "You think it's perfect."
"Yes." Paige answered again, nodding her head emphatically. "I read your paper thrice while you were fast asleep. It's good." She insisted, moving an arm to wrap it around Emily's waist. "I'm not lying."
Emily narrowed her eyes before deciding to lean forward and kissed Paige on the cheek softly, smiling at the girl. "Thanks." She uttered before kissing Paige on the cheek again.
It was a lazy Sunday morning and the two girls found themselves staring at each other in Emily's bed. Paige didn't need to go back to her apartment until a couple of hours before lunch to meet her dad so she decided to just lie next to Emily and watch the girl sleep while reading Emily's paper until she woke up.
Paige moved her hand from Emily's waist and cradled the girl's cheek, letting her thumb graze the girl's smooth skin before playing with her earlobe. "I love quiet Sundays." She said, her eyes meeting Emily's.
Emily grinned, trying to control the racing of her heart. Paige's touch was making her skin tingle all over. "I love quiet Sundays too." She replied, unable to resist the urge to kiss Paige so she leaned forward to capture the girl's lips for a kiss that was slow at first until she moved to position herself on top of the girl, much to Paige's surprise. Emily had the sudden urge to do more than just kiss and she was nervous as to how to get there. "Paige." She uttered in between kisses.
"Yeah?" Paige answered, placing both hands on Emily's thighs to support the girl.
"I want to do more." Emily continued as she buried her head on the crook of Paige's neck, seemingly embarrassed with how much her body was drawn to the girl's.
"More how?" Paige asked nervously.
Emily answered by slowly moving her hand under Paige's shirt, cupping the girl's breast. She felt like her heart was going to beat right out of her chest but her desire for the girl overcame her nervousness.
Paige's body arched towards Emily involuntarily. "Are you sure?" She asked, her pulse racing. She wanted Emily to touch her. But she didn't want the girl to be uncomfortable. She's been trying to keep her hands to herself after that cold shower they took together knowing Emily wasn't ready even if the girl bared herself to her.
"Yeah." Emily said, getting up and waiting for Paige to do the same.
Paige understood what Emily wanted her to do and sat up. She gave the girl a soft, reassuring kiss before slowly taking off her shirt, exposing a little of herself to Emily. "Okay?" She gently asked. If the girl suddenly changed her mind about getting to second base she was fine with it.
"Yeah." Emily answered, staring at Paige's body as she took a deep, shaky breath. "Let me." She said, stopping the girl when she saw that Paige was about to take off her bra.
Emily's fingers trembled as she moved her hand to unhook the clasp of the material, her pulse racing into overdrive when she saw the girl's pert nipples. Right now all she wanted to do was kiss those peaks and she wanted Paige to touch her too, the thought making her realize that she still had her clothes on so she began to undress in front of the girl.
Paige was aware of how ragged her breathing just became and she felt like she was going to pass out as she watched Emily take off her own top and then her bra.
They sat in front of each other in nervous anticipation before Emily finally closed the distance between them once again, kissing Paige firmly as she pushed the girl to lie down on her bed. Her breath hitched when she felt Paige's breasts against hers and she began to trail wet kisses along the girl's collarbone, hesitating for a second before making her way towards Paige's breasts. With one hand fondling the girl's other breast, Emily took Paige's left nipple in her mouth and began to lick and suck it, aware that while the girl found pleasure in what she was doing, she herself was starting to get wet.
"Em." Paige whispered hoarsely, arching her back to offer herself to the girl. She let out a moan and held the girl's head closer to her chest, her eyes drifting close as she reveled in the feel of Emily's soft lips on her bare skin.
"But I don't understand why you don't want to go back to South Beach." Spencer said, giving her friend a confused look. "I really thought you'd be excited. You barely explored that place."
"I know. But we already went to Miami last year." Emily reminded her friend as they got ready for their respective classes on a rainy Monday morning. "I don't want to go back there for Spring Break."
"Well Aria suggested Cancun." Spencer continued, looking around her study table for her notebook. "Do you want to go to Mexico?"
"I don't know yet." Emily admitted as she brushed an imaginary lint off her top.
"Well you better make up your mind now because they're making the reservations later. It's Hanna and Aria in one room and us in another." Spencer explained.
Emily walked over to her bed and grabbed her shoulder bag. "Spence, I don't mind rooming with a different person if you three want to room with your boyfriends." She insisted.
"Who do you plan on rooming with?" Spencer asked, raising an eyebrow at her friend curiously.
Emily shrugged offhandedly. "I don't know. Maybe Kayla will be interested to join us." She replied, saying the first name she could come up with. "A high school student joining college students for Spring Break. It's not unheard of." She added wryly, making Spencer laugh.
"We don't have to spend every waking moment with our boyfriends, Em." Spencer reminded her friend. "I'd rather room with a girl than with a boy actually. It's one week. I don't want to room with Connor for a week. He'll probably turn our room into a man cave or something."
"But he's coming with you. Who's he going to room with?" Emily asked, confused.
"A couple of his friends from Rosewood." Spencer answered. "He said two of his buddies don't have girlfriends yet so their plans depend on mine. I know." She uttered when Emily gave her a surprised look. "It's pretty awesome of him. And his friends. So say yes. Please? So Aria and Hanna can make the reservations today."
"Fine." Emily said, trying to hide the reluctance in her voice. She couldn't come up with a decent excuse as to why she couldn't make up her mind right now. Not without telling her friend about Paige.
Spencer grinned. "Great. I'll call Aria on my way to class." She decided, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "Are you coming?"
"No. You go ahead. I can't seem to find my umbrella." Emily said, looking around her. "I'll see you at lunch."
Spencer nodded and headed for the door, leaving Emily to herself. She sighed as she grabbed her umbrella from her study table when she finally spotted it, her mind trying to think of ways as to how she could spend Spring Break with Paige. The two of them still haven't talked about their plans and she didn't know where the girl was headed. If Paige made different plans, they could end up spending their break apart. She didn't want to ask Paige to change her plans so the girl could come with her instead when they would just end up sneaking around since she still wasn't ready to tell her friends about them. I guess I'll just have to bring it up at dinner tonight. Emily thought before grabbing her things and heading to her class.
"Okay. How about the Catalina Hotel?" Reese suggested next, squinting at the laptop screen as she scanned the information about the hotel that was displayed on a website. "It says here that it's moderately priced, across from the beach, and in the heart of the fashionista bar scene. Okay never mind that last part." She added wryly. "It has a... Tempur-Pedic bed? I don't know what that is. And then a rooftop pool that's supposedly 'hip'. She continued, using air quotes. "It's a party hotel with small rooms. Ooh..." Reese uttered, wincing when she read something. "The nightly room rate in March is a little over three hundred but... the hotel allows four adults to share a room so that's like..." She trailed off, doing the computation in her head. "Around seventy-six bucks per person. Not bad, right?"
"Uh, wrong." Paige corrected, giving her friend a disbelieving look. "I don't want to spend my first Spring Break in college with three other people in the room with me." She explained, reaching for the girl's laptop to face it towards her so she could see the website for herself.
The two girls were seated in front of each other in one of the tables inside the Café at McClelland, grabbing an early lunch while discussing their plans for the upcoming Spring Break. Reese suggested going to Florida with some of their teammates and Paige was immediately on board with the idea thinking Emily and her friends are probably headed back there.
"This is a crappy website." Paige commented while scanning the list of hotels in the South Beach area Reese searched for. "This is a crappy, crappy website."
"You don't have to say it several times, newbie. I got it the first time. It's really crappy." Reese said, grabbing her laptop to face it towards her again. "Fine. I'll look for hotels from a different website then." She decided, typing several keywords before clicking the search button and looking at Paige. "Though I don't get why you don't want that deal in Catalina. Seventy-six bucks is pretty cheap."
"I don't care if it's five bucks, Reese. I'm not sharing a room with three other people. I'm getting a room by myself." Paige clarified.
Understanding dawned on the girl and Reese gave Paige a knowing smile. "Of course. So you could be alone with Emily." She said, finally getting her friend's reluctance to share a room with her and two of their teammates.
"We haven't talked about it yet, but yeah. I plan to get a room by myself in case Emily and her friends go there for Spring Break." Paige admitted. "I'm just making sure we get some privacy."
"I guess I'd have to find another person to split the bill four-ways then." Reese said, browsing the website she found just now for affordable hotels. "Want me to find a room for you? We can make reservations in the same hotel. Different floors. Of course." She hurriedly added when she saw her friend frown.
Paige nodded and resumed reading the open book next to her lunch in preparation for a long quiz in her next subject. She turned the page to continue reading but looked up when she heard Reese's voice again.
"Oh. Hey. Don't forget the career fair on Friday." Reese reminded the girl. "The career fair." She repeated when Paige gave her a blank stare. "Business casual attire, Houston Hall?"
"Yeah. I'm ready for that one. I just hope I actually find something this time." Paige added, the thought of having to talk to several company reps for hours already exhausting her.
"Do you still need me to come with you or are you going to ask Emily this time?" Reese inquired, stirring her glass of lemonade with the straw.
Paige pursed her lips, trying to decide. "Um... I'll get back to you on that one. I need to talk about it with Emily first." She answered before returning her attention to the book she's reading.
Emily's lips curled into a smile when Paige's soft hair brushed against her cheek when the girl leaned forward to reach for a different marker that littered the coffee table. She was seated cross-legged on the floor in front of Paige so she could write on the table and while the floor was cold and hard, she didn't mind.
Although the two of them were studying for different exams tomorrow, they decided to study together after dinner two hours ago so they could still spend time tonight. Paige sat cross-legged on the couch with a book on her thigh, changing markers every chance she got just so she could have an excuse to be near the girl, surprising Emily with a kiss on the cheek every now and then.
"Study break." Emily suddenly declared to Paige's pleasant surprise when her brain stopped working and all she could think about was kissing the girl. She angled her body to look up at Paige with a playful smile on her lips.
Paige immediately closed the book she was reading and leaned forward to blindly place it on the coffee table as she met the girl's lips with hers.
Emily laughed. "Multitasking. I like that." She said when their lips parted for a few seconds.
Paige shrugged before kissing Emily again. "I couldn't wait to kiss you. Did I mention I love study breaks?" She asked once they came up for air.
Emily stood up and sat on the couch next to Paige, kissing the girl once again. "I love study breaks too just as long as it's with you." She admitted.
"Good answer. No wonder you're getting straight As." Paige teased. "Ow!" She exclaimed, rubbing her left arm when Emily hit her playfully. "Since when did you start hitting like not a girl?"
"Since you got slow avoiding me. I'm still a girl though." Emily reminded Paige.
"You are." Paige affirmed, smiling softly. "You're such a girl. That's why I like you so much."
"'Cos I'm a girl?" Emily asked, amused.
"An insanely hot girl?" Paige corrected.
"Close enough." Emily replied, depositing a light kiss on the girl's lips. "Hey I almost forgot. Do you have plans on Friday?" She asked when she remembered something just now. "Because Gary said at the meeting earlier that each member is allowed to bring a plus one to the MARC event and I was hoping you could come with me." She continued before the girl could answer the question.
Paige heard the eagerness in Emily's voice even if the girl seated next to her appeared nonchalant. So she made a decision right there and then. "Yeah. Sure. I don't have plans." She lied. It was the first time Emily asked her to go to an event where they could be seen together and she was willing to pass up going to the career fair for it.
"I know it's sort of last minute." Emily said apologetically. "It must've slipped my mind or I wasn't listening when Gary mentioned it in the past meetings. Good thing she brought it up tonight."
"It's okay. It's not like the event's tomorrow." Paige pointed out. "Wait. What's the dress code? Please tell me I don't have to wear a dress." She added anxiously. "Because the last time you forced me to get into one we ended up being late because we were arguing about it so much."
"It's business casual." Emily answered, laughing when she remembered the incident the girl was referring to.
"Oh thank god." Paige breathed. "Yeah. I'll be there."
"Are you sure? Because you can say no. You told me before that you're not interested in Marketing so you might get bored and the event's from eight to five." Emily explained, giving Paige a hesitant look. "Although there's a career fair at three but then again you might not be interested in that since it's connected to Marketing as well." She rambled on. "You know what, I can just ask..."
Paige leaned forward to deposit a quick kiss on Emily's lips, silencing the girl for a few seconds. "Em, it's fine. I don't mind going. I want to support you. And I don't mind checking out the career fair. Maybe I'll find something there." She added, now feeling slightly less guilty for lying to the girl.
"Okay. Thanks." Emily said, grinning.
Paige nodded. "Now it's my turn. Spring Break." She began, biting her bottom lip anxiously. "I know we haven't gotten around to discussing our plans. But today Reese and I sort of decided that we're going to South Beach with a couple of our teammates. I told her I wasn't going to share a room with them though. I was planning to book a room to myself in case you and your friends go there..."
"Now I should've agreed to Spencer's suggestion." Emily interjected, confusing Paige. "We were talking about that this morning. Our plans for Spring Break. Spencer wanted to go to South Beach but I told her I didn't want to go back to Miami for Spring Break since we already went there last summer."
"So where are you and your friends headed then?" Paige asked.
"Cancun?" Emily revealed apologetically. "I tried telling Spencer that I don't mind rooming with someone else if they want to room with their boyfriends but she insisted she wanted to room with me. Aria made the reservations this morning."
"Okay. No problem." Paige said, shrugging. "I'll just tell Reese I won't be able to make it to Miami and that I'm going to Cancun instead." She decided.
"What? No. Paige, it's fine if you want to go to Miami with Reese and your teammates." Emily told the girl reassuringly. "You already made plans with them."
Paige smiled. "One week of mocking or one week of this?" She asked, leaning forward to kiss Emily softly. "It's not a hard choice to make." She added, caressing Emily's cheek when the girl's lips curled into a smile. "Give me the name of the hotel you're staying at and I'll just book a room to myself. On a different floor." She added when she saw Emily frown. "We won't be able to do stuff if your friends are nearby."
Emily slowly wrapped her arms around Paige's neck. "Stuff like what?" She asked coyly.
Paige brought her arms around Emily's waist and guided the girl to lie down on the couch. "I don't know. Why don't we practice right here?" She suggested, capturing Emily's lips on hers before the girl could say anything else. "But before we continue... I have a quick question. Why do you like me?"
"What?" Emily uttered, confused. "You're seriously asking me that?" She continued when she realized that the girl was referring to their earlier conversation.
Paige nodded. "You don't have to answer. If you don't want to." She added hurriedly.
"I don't know. I just woke up one day insanely attracted to you." Emily admitted, moving her hand to start playing with the girl's soft hair. "You're really beautiful. Stunning, actually. I don't need to tell you that. Lots of girls find you beautiful. You're insanely sweet and thoughtful. You're awkward around me and for some reason you can't hide how you feel and I like that."
"That I turn into a mess when I'm around you?" Paige asked wryly.
"No. That you wear your heart on your sleeve." Emily answered earnestly. "I don't gloat over the knowledge that I have this effect on you but I like that I can make you feel flustered."
"You're so smart." Paige said, gazing at Emily with open admiration. "You give me such good answers."
"Not half as smart as you. Because you show me the best ones." Emily added, kissing Paige quickly. "That's why I'm here. Because you may be good with words, but I don't need to hear it to know how you feel."
"Stop talking." Paige pleaded.
"Why?" Emily asked, confused.
"You're making me fall harder." Paige answered candidly.
"Good answer." Emily whispered, smiling as she met the girl's lips with hers. You're making me fall harder, too. She thought as she closed her eyes and let herself get lost in Paige's kisses.
"Mexico?!" Reese repeated, her eyes widening comically on Tuesday afternoon as she and Paige rested on the sidelines of the indoor track in Penn Park. "But we had plans in Miami." She reminded her friend.
"Not with each other. You had plans and I had plans. With Emily." Paige emphasized. "I'm not gonna spend my Spring Break in Miami while the girl I'm seeing is in a different country, Reese. Sorry." She added apologetically. "Emily's friends already booked rooms yesterday morning and Em can't tell Spencer that she won't be joining them because of me. I'm not gonna ask her to do that either. She hasn't seen her other friends since January and Spring Break is her chance to catch up with them."
"Will Emily ever tell people that she's seeing you?" Reese asked, giving Paige a wry look.
"Eventually. I don't mind waiting. I know Emily's trying and she'll tell people when she's ready." Paige said confidently.
"I guess it's a good thing I didn't book a room just yet." Reese said, deciding to let the matter drop. "I was going to make you choose first which view of the beach you like but now that you're going to Mexico I get to choose which room I like."
"I won't be able to make it to the career fair on Friday by the way. I'm going to attend the MARC event with Emily." Paige explained when she saw the mild astonishment in Reese's face.
"And you just keep surprising me today. One decision after another." Reese commented wryly. "Do I need to remind you of the reason why you ended things with Emily for two weeks? Did she ask you not to attend the fair?"
Paige shook her head. "She told me about the MARC event before I could tell her about the career fair. She's allowed to bring a plus one to the event and she asked me if I wanted to go with her. I want to support her so I said yes. There'll be other career fairs. But this is Emily's first MARC event and I don't want to miss it." She explained. "Besides. She said there's going to be a career fair there anyway so I still get to go to one on Friday."
"If you say so." Reese said, giving Paige a worried look. She wanted to persuade the girl to attend the more diverse career fair on Friday but judging from the serious look in Paige's face, Reese knew that no amount of words could convince her friend to change her mind. Not when it's a choice that involved Emily Fields.
"I can't believe it's raining again." Spencer complained later that night, glancing at the window before sitting on the edge of her bed and facing her friend. "That's two days in a row."
"It's just two days." Emily commented offhandedly as she continued typing her reply to a text message with a huge grin on her lips.
"What's with the megawatt smile, Em?" Spencer asked, studying her friend from across the room.
"What?" Emily uttered, looking up from her phone and meeting the other girl's curious stare.
Spencer used the pen she was twirling in her right hand to point to her friend. "That smile you can't seem to wipe off your face. What's up with that?" She clarified.
Emily shrugged. "Nothing." She answered, biting her bottom lip in an effort to stop herself from smiling again.
Spencer narrowed her eyes. "Who were you texting just now?" She asked suspiciously.
"A classmate. Asking to get together later." Emily vaguely replied. Technically Paige was her classmate in three of her subjects this semester.
"And that casual invitation made you grin like that?" Spencer continued, pointing to Emily's face again. "The thought of meeting a classmate later, considering the weather outside, just puts you in a good mood."
"I guess." Emily said, looking down at the notes on her lap to avoid her friend's gaze. "What are you doing?!" She exclaimed when she felt Spencer's arms around her.
"I'm glad you're finally moving on." Spencer said, smiling at her friend once she pulled away.
"W-what?!" Emily stammered.
"That classmate of yours must be someone special, Em. I haven't seen you smile like that in such a long time. I'm happy for you." Spencer continued earnestly.
"Spence, it's not like that..." Emily began.
"Your actions and words do not match. You say it's not what I think it is but your smile tells me otherwise." Spencer explained. "See? There it is again." She said when Emily smiled once the girl felt her phone vibrate. "I think you're crazy about this classmate of yours."
Emily shook her head wryly and read the message, angling her phone to the left so Spencer won't be able to see the content and who it was from.
I know, I know. You need to sleep in your room tonight otherwise Spencer's going to notice. It's just that it's raining again. And kissing you twice under it makes it my favorite weather. Ever.
Emily bit her bottom lip to stop her grin from growing wider and hurriedly typed a reply.
So if I come knocking on your door soaking wet...
"Is that the girl you're planning to introduce to us?" Spencer asked, reminding Emily that she wasn't alone. "Because I thought it didn't work out?"
"She came back." Emily admitted. "So now I'm just trying to figure out things between us before making it official." She continued, returning her attention to her phone when she felt it vibrate.
Don't you dare! I don't want you getting sick!
Emily grinned and stood up abruptly when she thought of something. She pocketed her phone and grabbed her jacket that was hanging from the back of her chair before heading for the door. "I'm going out." She told her friend as she put on her jacket and fixed her hair. "Don't wait up."
Spencer stared at the girl in open-mouthed surprise. "Em, it's raining! Bring an umbrella!" She finally called out when she got over her surprise but her friend was already out the door.
Paige hurriedly opened the door of her apartment when she heard the insistent knocking and her eyes widened at the sight of Emily, drenched from head to toe. "Are you crazy?!" She exclaimed, about to launch into a tirade and reprimand the girl for coming over without an umbrella when the drenched girl pushed her way inside and kissed her. Hard.
Emily pulled back to stare at the surprised girl standing in front of her. "I am." She said, trying to catch her breath. "I'm head over heels crazy about you." She admitted before kissing Paige once again, her cold lips meeting the girl's warm ones repeatedly.
Paige cupped the girl's cold cheek, kissing Emily for a few more seconds before forcing herself to pull away. "I'm crazy about you too. But we need to get you out of these wet clothes or you're going to get sick." She said, touching Emily's fleece jacket and frowning when she felt how drenched it was.
Emily grinned mischievously and took off her jacket. "That's the plan. You have hot water, right?" She asked, dropping the wet piece of clothing on the floor.
Paige heard herself gulp as she watched Emily start to slowly unbutton her top. "Yeah. I think... I think so." She stammered, aware that her heart was racing a mile a minute.
Emily tried to keep the laughter out of her voice as she continued to tease Paige. "Do you mind if I jump in?" She asked innocently as she took off her top and began to unbutton her jeans this time.
"Uh." Paige uttered, completely mesmerized by the sight of the beautiful girl undressing in her hallway.
"Paige?" Emily urged, raising one eyebrow inquisitively.
"Yeah. You can jump in." Paige finally answered, her voice hoarse. "But just to be sure... I'll go check right now if there's still hot water left." She volunteered, pointing behind the girl and telling her feet to start walking.
Emily grabbed Paige's wrist when the girl walked past her. "Are you really going to leave me alone, half-naked, wet and shivering in your hallway?" She asked, giving the girl an amused smile.
Paige let out a nervous laugh. "No." She answered, shaking her head adamantly.
"And I ran all the way from Harrison to the bus stop, stood there waiting for the bus that would take me here, got off and ran under the rain that was pouring even harder than when I left campus... just so I could see you tonight. Are you telling me you're going to let me jump into that shower alone? I mean, I didn't come here to take a shower by myself. I could've done that back in my room." Emily explained, her voice low.
"Oh." Paige uttered, her cheeks flushing. Other than the night Emily bared herself to her and asked if she could join her in the shower, they haven't really done anything that constituted getting to third base. "Do you... want to take a cold shower then?" She asked nervously.
Emily laughed. "I ran under the pouring rain. That's enough cold shower for me tonight. If you don't want to join me, it's fine." She added when she noticed the girl's reluctance.
"No, I do." Paige said quickly.
"So why do you look like you're about to pass out?" Emily asked worriedly.
Paige swallowed hard. "If it's a warm shower and we're both naked... I don't think I can... if I see you. And I don't want to scare you." She admitted.
"You won't." Emily promised. "Paige, I'm already standing half-naked in front of you. If I wasn't comfortable doing something with you tonight I would've brought an umbrella."
Paige took a deep breath to calm herself before reaching for Emily's hand, leading the way to the bathroom. She turned on the shower, letting the warm water run for a few seconds before gesturing for the girl to step inside. Emily slowly took off her soaked undergarments, all the while maintaining eye contact with Paige.
"Don't look so nervous." Emily said quietly. "You're making me nervous."
"Sorry." Paige uttered, releasing the breath she was holding in and giving Emily a nervous smile as she watched the girl step inside the shower.
Emily stood under the warm water before running a hand through her hair and Paige heard her breath hitch, the sight making her dizzy with desire. Emily Fields can certainly make people living in Antarctica take a cold shower if she wanted to. The girl made taking a bath incredibly sexy and Paige didn't know if she could control herself if she went in.
"Are you coming?" Emily asked, staring at the girl expectantly.
Paige bit her bottom lip in frustration before finally nodding and she began to undress, aware of the wetness that was already pooling between her legs. Emily moved to make room for her inside the small space and Paige found herself staring into the girl's lust-filled eyes.
Emily leaned closer and slowly kissed Paige, letting the warm water drench them. "You can touch me, you know." She said, the desire evident in her voice as she slid her thigh in between the girl's and felt Paige's arousal. "Touch me." She whispered in the girl's ear.
Paige kissed Emily's bare shoulder and lifted her head to meet the girl's gaze, caressing Emily's cheek before leaning in for a deep kiss, trying to tell the girl how much she wanted her. She began to explore every inch of Emily's bare skin, her hands slowly moving to pull Emily closer to her naked body as their lips parted and met again and again.
Emily turned the page of the book she was reading on Paige's couch on Wednesday morning, finishing a bowl of cereal for breakfast while trying to get some reading done for her first class with Paige. Since she left Harrison in a rush last night, she would have to attend their Managerial Economics class today without her things... and in the clothes she wore last night when she came over or Spencer would ask where she got a change of clothes when she returned to their room later. Good thing Paige reminded me last night to wash my clothes before we went to bed. Emily thought, a smile tugging on the corners of her mouth as she spooned another portion of her cereal. She was about to raise the spoon to her mouth when she heard Paige yell, startling her.
"Ah!" Paige exclaimed from inside the bathroom.
Emily didn't have to wait long to find out what was wrong. A few seconds later, she saw Paige emerge into the hallway in black sweatpants and a blue shirt, the girl's arms crossed as she looked at Emily accusingly.
"What?" Emily asked, giving the girl a confused look.
"You used up all the hot water!" Paige exclaimed.
Emily cringed. "Sorry." She uttered sheepishly.
Paige narrowed her eyes. "No you're not." She guessed when she saw the hint of mischief in Emily's eyes.
"That's for giving me several hickeys." Emily said indignantly.
Paige's jaw dropped. "They're not visible! And that's funny; I don't remember you complaining last night. All I heard were moans. And they weren't of pain." She added, walking over to the girl.
"You think you're funny." Emily shot back.
"No, I think you're enjoying spending nights here a bit too much." Paige pointed out, sitting on the couch next to the girl.
"Fine. I'm sleeping in my room tonight if it bothers you so much." Emily said, pretending to be offended.
Paige rolled her eyes. "You know it doesn't bother me. I like having you here. But now that you used up all the hot water I need your help." She revealed, her eyes gleaming mischievously.
"Help how?" Emily asked, giving the girl a suspicious look.
Paige grinned. "Well... the only way for me to be able to stand under that ice cold water is if I'm in desperate need of a cold shower so..."
"What? I'm running late!" Emily interjected.
"We're running late." Paige corrected, reminding the girl that they have the same first class this morning. "So either help me out or I'll ask someone else."
"You wouldn't dare." Emily said, narrowing her eyes at the girl.
Paige shrugged. "I'm desperate." She answered before glancing towards the door. "It's still early. I think I'm gonna go check if Kayla's willing to help me out." She added, returning her attention to Emily. "Go ahead. At least one of us won't be late for class."
"Nice try. I don't get jealous when it comes to Kayla." Emily lied.
"Really?" Paige uttered dubiously.
"Really." Emily repeated.
"Because I seem to remember your reaction when you found out she kissed me while she was drunk..." Paige trailed off.
"Yeah. But I'm over it." Emily answered, shrugging.
Paige studied the girl for a few seconds before she nodded and moved to get up, grinning when she felt Emily's hand on her arm before she could.
"Okay fine. I'll help." Emily said hurriedly. "But just so you know, I'm doing this against my will."
"And I lied when I said there's no hot water left. I just want to kiss you." Paige confessed while struggling to keep a straight face.
Emily frowned. "That's it. I'm leaving." She decided, getting up and walking past the girl.
"Kiss me first." Paige demanded, grabbing Emily's hand. "Come on. You know you want to." She cajoled.
The corner of Emily's lips slowly curled into a smile that showed off the girl's dimples that Paige loved so much. "I do." Emily said, moving to sit on Paige's lap. She straddled the girl as she brought her lips to Paige's pulse point, depositing a light kiss on the girl's smooth skin. "I don't want to stop kissing you." She admitted. "I really used up all the hot water didn't I?" She asked in between kisses.
"Yeah." Paige replied, chuckling when she felt Emily's hands wander under her top and began caressing her flat stomach.
"I'll make it up to you." Emily whispered as her hands slowly made their way up Paige's chest and she savored the feel of the girl's smooth skin against her palm.
"You are so welcome to use all the hot water every morning if it means we get to do this." Paige said as Emily's hands began to wander towards her breasts, cupping it.
"It's okay that we're not doing more, right? I mean, you're still okay with waiting?" Emily asked, her right hand unhooking the girl's bra and letting her fondle Paige's breast with her left.
"Yeah. Em, I'm not in a hurry. I'm fine with doing just this. This is pretty intimate." Paige whispered before depositing a kiss on the girl's neck.
"It's just... last night. We almost. And then I stopped you." Emily added breathlessly as she let one hand wander south.
"Em, it's fine. If you hadn't stopped me I would've stopped myself." Paige reassured the girl.
"Really?" Emily asked, managing to look at Paige briefly.
"Really. I'm fine with where we are. I know it's a big deal for you. It is for me too." Paige said before she kissed Emily's collarbone.
"Don't answer that." Emily muttered when she heard Paige's phone ring before meeting the girl's lips with hers.
"Might be important." Paige answered in between kisses, her hand blindly groping for her cellphone on the glass table next to the couch. "Hello?" She said in greeting, one hand resting on Emily's waist as she angled her body a little to hear who was on the other end of the line.
"Hey. It's Spencer." The caller said in greeting, making Paige curse inwardly. She should've checked the display screen first. "Paige?"
"Yeah I'm here." Paige answered, gesturing for Emily to keep quiet and mouthing Spencer's name. "What's up?"
"I'm just checking. Have you heard from Emily?" Spencer asked, getting straight to the point.
"Uh, not recently, no." Paige lied, shifting a little when the girl sitting on top of her began trailing soft kisses on her neck. She bit her bottom lip to keep from making a sound. "Why are you asking?"
"She didn't come home. Last night she left without an umbrella and didn't tell me where she was going. I tried calling her but she wasn't answering her phone." Spencer explained, the worry evident in her voice. "You've been spending time with her. Do you know where she is?"
"I have no idea." Paige breathed, closing her eyes when Emily began to caress the skin under the waistband of her sweatpants. "I spend time with her because of MUSE. That's it. I don't know how she spends her time when she's not with me."
"So you have no idea who she's with right now?" Spencer concluded. "She said she's been seeing someone but I don't know who. I figured since you two are spending time together you'd have an idea."
Paige opened her mouth to speak but a moan escaped from her lips instead when Emily began to lower one hand inside her sweatpants.
"Did you just moan?" Paige heard Spencer ask, causing her eyes to snap open.
Paige's eyes widened in panic. "What? No. No. I groaned." She hurriedly said, rolling her eyes at Emily when she saw the girl smirk.
"I'm not stupid, Paige. I know the difference between a moan and a groan. Did you answer my call while you're in the middle of coitus?!" Spencer asked accusingly.
"No. Why would I do that?" Paige answered indignantly. "I said I groaned. I groaned because you're pestering me with questions about your friend and it's barely seven in the morning! I told you I don't know where she is. Go call someone else to bother!"
"Oh my god you're disgusting, Paige. I'm hanging up now." Spencer stated before ending the call, not believing a word Paige said to her.
"I guess I'm not gonna win points with your friends anytime soon. Especially Spencer." Paige added, dropping her phone on the couch next to her and focusing her attention to the girl straddling her. "If she only knew where you've been sleeping all this time... and that you're the reason why I made that noise earlier..."
Emily slowly wrapped her arms around the girl's neck and smiled faintly. "I don't like lying to her." She admitted.
"I know." Paige said, rubbing the girl's back comfortingly.
"But I don't want to stop seeing you." Emily continued.
"I know." Paige repeated.
Emily bit her bottom lip anxiously. "She already knows that I'm seeing someone. Just not the who part. I'm still trying to find the right time..."
"Hey. I know." Paige interjected. "And I'm not complaining. I know you're trying. You're not gonna lose me." She reassured the girl, brushing a strand of hair away from Emily's worried eyes.
"I'm sorry." Emily said quietly. "I know this isn't what you want."
"We'll be fine." Paige insisted. "As long as you want me around I'm not going anywhere."
Emily smiled faintly. "You're making it hard for me not to want you around." She admitted.
"Good. Because that's the plan." Paige whispered conspiratorially. She briefly smiled when Emily suddenly moved to hug her before turning serious. "I won't let you go unless you ask me." She promised.
Kayla struggled to open the door of her apartment on Friday morning, shifting her books and steaming cup of coffee in her arms as she tried to balance everything while searching for the keys inside her bag. It was one of those 'late nights' she's been having lately and she barely had thirty minutes left before she had to leave for Girard.
"Damn it." Kayla cursed under her breath when she dropped her keys. She reluctantly lowered her books on the ground and crouched to retrieve the keys, the sudden movement causing her head to pound.
Great. Now I'm late again and I have a headache. Kayla thought, rubbing the side of her head as she got up. She was starting to regret just agreeing to what her father asked of her at the beginning of her senior year, thinking why she agreed to this setup in the first place when she heard a door open behind her and she smiled. She remembered now.
"Paige!" Kayla exclaimed, turning around with a huge smile on her lips. It was amazing how the girl's mere presence suddenly made everything better.
"Kayla." Paige said in greeting, turning around to lock the door before facing the girl again. "Headed to class?"
"Um... yeah. Something like that." Kayla answered, subtly trying to fix her appearance. "Hey. So I was wondering. I'm actually glad I ran into you. We haven't seen each other lately and there's this..."
"Can we talk about it later?" Paige interjected apologetically when she glanced at her watch and saw the time. "I'm running late and I have to pick up Emily from Harrison." She explained.
"Oh." Kayla uttered, trying to hide her disappointment. "Yeah. Of course. It can wait. Emily's more important." She added, giving the girl a faint smile. "Always has been."
Paige sighed. "Kayla, it's not like that. It's just that we have to attend an event on campus and she can't be late." She said, walking over to Jai's sister. "Sorry."
Kayla shook her head. "It's fine. Like I said, it can wait." She reassured the girl, taking a small step back in case Paige smelled the alcohol in her breath. "You look nice." She continued, gesturing to the girl's attire before taking a sip of her coffee.
"Really? You don't think it's too much?" Paige asked as she brushed an imaginary lint off her pantsuit before looking at Kayla anxiously.
"Depends. What's the occasion?" Kayla replied, her curiosity piqued.
"MUSE's MARC event. The dress code's supposed to be business casual." Paige added.
"Then you'll fit right in." Kayla reassured the girl. "You should get going."
"You're running late too. Come on. Let's go downstairs together." Paige offered, bending over to pick up Kayla's books off the floor.
"Um, you go ahead. I left something inside." Kayla lied, gesturing to her apartment vaguely. "And it might take me some time to find it."
Paige nodded and gave the girl a small smile. "We'll talk tonight. Okay?" She asked, handing the girl her books.
"Yeah. Or whenever you're free. It's not an urgent matter or anything." Kayla said, waving a hand dismissively. "Say hi to Emily for me. And give this back to her." She added when she saw the book the girl lent her last week on top of the pile. "Tell her thanks."
"I will." Paige answered as she studied the rectangular object in her hand. "Well I'm gonna go." She said in farewell, glancing at the girl before heading towards the elevators while reading the summary at the back of the book.
Kayla nodded and watched Paige walk towards the bank of elevators, waving a hand when she saw the girl look at her before getting inside an elevator car when it opened on their floor. When she was alone, Kayla felt the loneliness creeping in once again. Paige may have been the reason she agreed to this. But now, the girl was also the reason she was starting to regret it.
Emily studied the crowded room of Huntsman Hall, still trying to take in everything. From the simple yet elegant decors around the room, to the lavish spread of food on the long table that was set to one side of the roomy area, to the mingling sophisticated guests speakers and attendees, Emily still couldn't believe that she was living the dream she had when she was a mere high school student. She did it. Just when she thought she'd never realize this dream of hers, the last person she expected to mean the most to her now told her at the beginning of their freshman year to start dreaming again.
"You're not bored. Are you?" Emily asked, looking to her left and trying to read Paige's expression. "'Cos you don't have to stay for the entire event. You can leave if you want to."
Paige shook her head. "Em, I am not leaving you. I'm your date to this event. I'm not bored." She reassured the girl. "And you don't have to keep checking on me. Go back to interacting with all these fancy-looking people. I like seeing your face light up when you do."
Emily fought the urge to kiss the girl. "I'll make it up to you tonight." She promised, making Paige grin. "Maybe you should join Spencer and Connor." She suggested, subtly nodding her head towards a spot near them where the couple stood talking to another couple.
Since the conference was open not just to Wharton students but to UPenn students interested in the world of Marketing, Advertising and Retail as well, Spencer and Connor decided to attend the event for Emily. She told her friend they didn't have to come but Spencer insisted that she and Connor wanted to support her today.
Paige gave the girl a wry look. "And risk being questioned by Spencer about my mysterious guest last Wednesday? Uh, no thanks. I'm fine right here." She insisted. "Go. Mingle some more. This is your day. I can find something else to do until the career fair."
Emily bit her bottom lip, trying to decide. "Okay. I'll go with you to the fair later." She added, giving Paige a smile before leaving the girl and slowly making her way around the crowd. "Sorry!" She suddenly exclaimed when she bumped hard into someone while sidestepping a man in a business suit who was walking briskly towards her.
"It's fine. Consider it payback for when we bumped into you accidentally at Radian." Reese answered, trying to wipe the cranberry juice off her dress with the cocktail napkin in her hand.
"I'm really sorry." Emily uttered, studying the girl's outfit to check if there were any visible stains. "Do you need help cleaning that up?"
Reese shook her head. "No need. I'm sure it's nothing a little cold water won't remove." She reassured the girl. "So. Great turnout this year. From what my dad told me." She continued, letting her gaze wander to the crowd around them.
"I wouldn't know. It's my first MARC event." Emily reminded the girl lightly.
"Mine too." Reese admitted. "I'm actually here against my will. I needed a favor from my dad and granddad and the only way they'll consider it is if I came here today." She explained wryly. "I take it you're enjoying yourself? Considering this is your first MARC event, I'm guessing you are."
Emily nodded. "I am. Especially since Paige is here." She added when she remembered that the girl knew she and Paige were seeing each other. "Speaking of. I've been trying to get her to mingle with some of the guests but she kept refusing. Maybe you could keep her company? She's right over there." She added, pointing towards Paige who was currently studying her pantsuit.
Reese glanced to where Emily was pointing before turning her attention back to the girl. "Not really surprising. You and I both know she came here just for you. The career fair here was just an excuse. I mean, no offense, MARC's career fair is good. But it's too concentrated. The one in Houston Hall is more diverse." She explained hurriedly when she saw the girl's brows crease.
"Career fair. What career fair?" Emily asked, her eyes narrowing.
"What?" Reese stuttered when she realized her slip up. Apparently Paige never told Emily about her original plan today.
"What career fair?" Emily repeated.
"Um... I think it's safe to say that Paige is going to kill me." Reese concluded, looking around the crowded room for a way out. "You know what? I think I should go. I have to wash this stain while it's still fresh. So I'm gonna go. Okay 'bye." She added before walking past the girl to head for the bathroom.
Emily's eyes followed Reese's hasty exit for a few seconds before she turned to head back the way she came, walking purposefully towards an unsuspecting Paige while trying to keep her temper in check.
"Back so soon?" Paige asked teasingly when she saw Emily approaching her. "What? You couldn't stay away from me?" She continued before realizing that the girl walking towards her was in a foul mood. "What's wrong?"
"Guess who I ran into just now." Emily said once she was standing in front of Paige.
"Uh... I don't know. Certainly not the Easter Bunny." Paige answered, trying to make Emily smile. She was surprised when the girl took her hand and firmly led her outside the crowded room without saying anything until it was just the two of them in a corner outside.
"Reese told me a really funny story." Emily began, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Care to guess about what? And no. It's not about the Easter Bunny."
"I decided to come with you instead." Paige explained, realizing what Reese told the girl. "Are you mad at me?"
"What do you think?" Emily said in reply, a hint of annoyance in her voice. "Going to this event with me isn't helping you make plans about your future, Paige. You're procrastinating."
"I'm supporting you." Paige corrected the girl. "And there's a career fair here anyway. Why are you mad at me?"
"Because you lied to me when I asked if you had plans today." Emily answered. "You lied because you knew that I would tell you to go to that career fair instead of spend all day with me just standing around, pretending to enjoy being here. Because I thought we agreed that you would focus on yourself and you're not doing that. That's why I'm mad."
Paige slowly reached for Emily's hand. "I just thought you'd be happy if I was here." She admitted. "I wanted to support you."
"I appreciate that. I do. But I have my other friends here to support me." Emily reminded the girl.
Paige creased her brows. "Uh, Em, I'm not exactly a friend." She emphasized.
"You should've gone to that career fair!" Emily exclaimed, her temper flaring.
Paige looked away, trying to hide how hurt she is that Emily didn't seem to want her there. She let her gaze wander around them and suddenly saw Spencer eyeing them curiously from across the room, making her realize that she's still holding Emily's hand.
"Sorry." Paige uttered, looking at Emily and releasing the girl's hand. "I get it. You don't want me around so I think I'll just leave. Enjoy the rest of the day." She added before turning her back and walking away.
Emily sighed, frustrated. "What? Paige. Wait. I didn't mean it like that. Paige." She called after the girl but Paige began walking briskly and headed for the exit before she could follow.
Emily ran a hand through her hair and checked the time on her watch, trying to decide on something. Damn it. She thought, craning her neck to see where Paige went before looking back towards the event inside. She took a deep breath and with a final glance at the exit, reluctantly made her way inside Huntsman Hall again.
Thirty minutes later, Emily knocked on Paige's apartment door, praying the girl was home. She had to go back inside the venue to find Gary and explain why she had to leave, lying about some sort of medical emergency and using acting skills she didn't have to make the president believe her lie. Then she had to tell Spencer and Connor that she had to leave the event to check on Paige due to said medical emergency, saying something about it being her fault that the girl got sick in the first place.
"Paige?" Emily called out, knocking again. "Come on. Please talk to me. I'm sorry for what I said. Paige?" She repeated, knocking louder this time.
Emily took out her phone to try calling Paige again, running a hand through her hair anxiously. She moistened her lips as she listened to the ringing on the other end of the line, turning around to face the door when she heard the lock click.
"Finally." Emily uttered in relief when she saw Paige before ending the call and pocketing her phone. "I've been trying to reach you ever since you left the event." She revealed, expecting Paige to tell her why the girl hasn't returned her calls but Paige just turned her back to her, leaving the door open and heading back to the couch to sit in front of her laptop.
"What are you doing?" Emily asked, choosing to stand rather than sit next to the girl.
"Homework. I have a paper to write so I decided to work on it now since I have nothing better to do." Paige explained without looking up at Emily and instead stared intently at her laptop screen.
"Paige I'm sorry I made you feel like I didn't want you there. You know I do. I wouldn't have asked you to come as my plus one if I didn't." Emily reminded the girl.
"You mean you want me there if my day was free. If it wasn't you wouldn't." Paige clarified, still refusing to look up.
"That's not true. I would just ask you to go to the career fair rather than spend the entire day with me doing nothing." Emily explained.
"There's a career fair right there in the event. I figured that's not so bad. I'd get to spend time with you and still attend a fair." Paige rationalized, her eyes never leaving the screen.
"I know. But the one in Houston Hall is more diverse. Reese said that and you know she's right. Considering you said you weren't interested in Marketing, going to that career fair rather than the one at the MARC event was more important." Emily explained patiently.
"No. You're more important." Paige corrected, finally looking up at the girl. "I don't understand why you don't get that."
"I get it." Emily said, taking a seat next to Paige. "I get how important I am to you. But you're important to me too. That's why I got mad when I found out you lied to me. I promised I would help you but I won't be able to do that if you keep making decisions like this."
"It's just once." Paige uttered defensively. "I just wanted to be there for you on your first MARC event. I didn't want to miss this." She admitted. "I'm sorry I lied. You're right. I knew you'd tell me to miss the event and go to the fair instead and I didn't want to go."
"I don't want you to sacrifice your future for me, Paige." Emily said, giving the girl a worried look. "Don't you have plans?"
"Of course I do." Paige answered, seemingly offended.
"Then why aren't you motivated enough?" Emily continued.
"They're just plans. They're not supposed to be set in stone." Paige explained. "Plans change. When something unexpected comes along you have to be able to find a way to work around it. Because plans are just plans. You plan to reach a dream. A goal. Those change too."
"Not if you want it hard enough they don't." Emily stated firmly.
"So now you're saying I don't aspire enough?" Paige asked, hurt.
"I think you don't want more for yourself." Emily pointed out.
"I do want more. I have goals. Dreams. When I was five I wanted to be a singer. Guess what? A few months later I found out I was tone deaf. I decided to be a dancer instead. Turns out I have two left feet. An architect, not good in drawing. I have had dreams, Emily. But when you can't reach them, you find a new goal. A new dream." Paige insisted.
Emily shook her head. "No you don't. If you want it bad enough you better yourself and find a way to reach your dream. Not just give up." She pointed out.
"Then I guess I haven't found something I want bad enough. But that doesn't make me incapable of wanting more for myself." Paige argued.
"Yeah. It only makes you indecisive." Emily replied.
"No matter what, you will always find fault in me. I can't win with you." Paige said dejectedly.
"I'm not finding fault in you. I'm just trying to understand why you're putting off finding a career for me." Emily explained.
"Because I'm in love with you!" Paige uttered emotionally. "I know you don't want to hear it. But I am. And you know it. I just need you to be able to see beyond the certainty of everything in your life and have faith that even if I don't have everything figured out right now, I can still be somebody for you. That not having plans, not being able to see my life ten, fifteen years from now, shouldn't define me." She continued earnestly. "Do you want to hear where I see myself ten years from now? I see myself with you. That's the only dream I have right now. I know it's pathetic. But being with you is the only thing that matters. I'll figure out the rest as I go. I do dream. But if pursuing those dreams meant giving you up, if it meant taking a different path that would separate me from you, then I'm willing to change those dreams. Because I'm not Jai."
"I didn't say you were." Emily said, upset.
"I'm not wired to act, feel, talk or think like her. But for some reason I feel as if you expect me to be. I am not her." Paige repeated.
"I know you're not." Emily insisted.
"Do you? Or are you just saying that to make me feel better? 'Cos it's not working." Paige confessed. "I'm not the type of girl who can't seem to decide whether to attend a career fair or see the girl she's in love with be part of something she's dreamed of since she was in high school. It's not a hard decision to make. There will be other career fairs. But there's only one you. I know you told me to stop saying I love you. And I'm trying. I really am. But I can't stop feeling it. I can't ignore you. I am not your friend." Paige reminded the girl.
"I know." Emily answered.
"I am something more." Paige continued.
"I know." Emily repeated.
"So let me be." Paige asked.
"Okay." Emily said before she reached for Paige's hand and stared at it. "I'm really glad you came with me." She admitted, looking up to meet Paige's gaze as she stroked the girl's hand slowly. "And I understand where you're coming from. I just wish you'd understand my side of things."
"I do." Paige answered, nodding her head once. "I promise I'll try harder to find a career. And I'm not gonna lie to you again."
Emily smiled. "Thank you." She uttered, giving the girl's hand a firm squeeze.
"I come in peace." Reese said in greeting, waving a makeshift white flag at Paige as she approached her friend during lunch on Monday morning.
Paige looked up from the book she was reading while eating her sandwich. "I'm not mad." She said once she was done swallowing the food in her mouth.
"I'm so sorry, newbie." Reese continued, putting down her books and bottle of water on the table before taking a seat opposite Paige. "I thought you told Emily." She explained apologetically.
"Don't apologize for the slip up. It was my fault anyway. I shouldn't have lied." Paige admitted.
"Was she mad? I think she's mad. I don't know what she looks like when she's mad but I felt like she was mad. Was she mad?" Reese repeated anxiously.
"Really mad." Paige affirmed. "And I've been feeling guilty ever since for overreacting and walking out because she missed the rest of the event when she followed me back to my apartment so we could talk about it." She added sheepishly.
"But... you two are still together. Right?" Reese asked, giving Paige a nervous look. "I didn't mess it up?"
Paige nodded. "Yeah. Like I said, we talked about it. I understood why she got mad, she understood why I lied. We're okay." She reassured her friend.
Reese let out a sigh of relief. "I swear I am staying away from your relationship. I've done enough meddling." She continued miserably.
"You haven't really meddled in mine." Paige said, confused.
"Well I'm making things worse in mine." Reese confessed. "I don't know why I can't fix it. I miss the days when someone would ask how it went and I would say we talked about it. We worked it out. We're okay."
"I'm sorry your relationship isn't working out." Paige said sympathetically.
"Thanks. I think." Reese added wryly. "You're still spending time with Brian today, right? Can you drop him off at Drexel afterwards instead?" She continued when Paige nodded. "I just found out that Billie's got some free time later in the afternoon so I want to go there after track practice so we could talk."
"Sure." Paige replied. She studied Reese for a second before continuing. "And if you want someone to talk to after... just call or text me." She offered, figuring out what her friend planned to do.
"I will. After tonight, Spring Break can't come soon enough." Reese admitted, giving the girl a faint smile.
Paige forced herself to stop kissing Emily, unable to believe what she was about to do. "Em... I really need to study for my exam in Ancient Athletics tomorrow." She confessed reluctantly, disentangling herself from the other girl and slowly moving to sit up on the couch.
Emily sighed and got up as well, running a hand through her hair once before fixing her top. She studied Paige for a few seconds before reaching out to tuck a loose strand of hair behind the girl's ear. "You're really stressed out about your exam." She said, concerned.
"Yeah. I need to ace it." Paige admitted, turning her head to face Emily. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be. It's fine." Emily uttered, shaking her head. She bit her bottom lip, hesitating for a second before speaking up again. "If you want I can help you study." She continued despite expecting the girl to decline her offer.
Paige's eyes slightly widened. "Really?" She asked, giving the girl a surprised look.
Emily's lips broke into a smile as she tried to get over the fact that her offer wasn't turned down. "Yeah. Come on. Give me the book. Let's multitask by playing a game." She suggested, extending a hand.
Paige quickly moved the book away from the girl's outstretched hand. "What? But I thought you're going to help me study?" She asked, confused.
Emily nodded. "I am. I just think it'd be fun if we add a little incentive." She said mischievously.
"Okay. What, like candy if I get the correct answer?" Paige asked dubiously, completely missing the girl's playful tone.
Emily rolled her eyes. "No. What are you? In kinder?" She shot back wryly. "How about this? You get three chances to answer a question. If you get it right the first time, I'll kiss you." She explained matter-of-factly.
Paige slowly grinned. "I like the sound of that. If I get it right the second try?" She asked.
"You get to kiss me." Emily revealed.
Paige nodded thoughtfully. "Not bad. And the third try?" She continued.
"I'll give you a high five." Emily answered with a straight face.
Paige laughed at the girl's joke but stopped when she noticed the serious expression on Emily's face. "You're kidding, right? Not even a kiss on the cheek?" She asked, disappointed.
"Nope. High five." Emily replied adamantly.
"Like buddies?" Paige reluctantly asked, raising one hand to try it out.
Emily raised hers and quickly slapped the girl's hand, proving her point. "Like buddies." She repeated.
"I think I like the candy better." Paige said, frowning at the girl.
Emily grinned. "So try to get the correct answers in two tries." She pointed out, raising two fingers for emphasis.
"Ha! I'll get them all in one." Paige said smugly.
"Feeling pretty confident now, aren't you?" Emily asked, amused.
"Yeah. Tonight there will be no high fives between us. Tonight you'll be doing all the kissing." Paige declared.
Emily laughed. "Really? Well why don't we give it a test run?" She suggested, reaching for Paige's book and facing it towards her.
"Hit me." Paige answered gamely, rubbing her hands together.
Emily's eyes scanned the pages of the book, trying to find a fairly easy question. "Okay. Uh, an ancient Greek athlete who won the stadion race of the fifteenth Ancient Olympic Games and became the crowd's favorite for being the first athlete to run naked." She finished, looking up from the book she was reading and raising one eyebrow at the girl expectantly.
Paige scoffed. "Orsippus of Megara." She answered confidently.
"Lucky guess." Emily uttered before leaning forward and giving the girl a soft kiss on the lips.
"I can do this all night." Paige said, grinning widely as she prepared herself for another question.
"Don't be so sure. That was just practice. The next one's going to be hard." Emily warned the girl.
Paige shrugged. "Just keep them coming." She uttered cockily.
Emily let out a short laugh. "Okay. Um... considered as the most distinguished female athlete of the ancient world, many historians use her as a symbol of the social rise of women and the beginning of the movement to give them equal rights and opportunities."
"That's a really easy one. Cynisca of Sparta." Paige answered promptly. "Come on, Em. Ask me something challenging." She added teasingly.
Emily shook her head and leaned forward to give the girl another kiss on the lips before turning to another page and looking for her next question. She looked up when she heard Paige's phone ring, the comfortable silence in the living room suddenly broken by the shrill sound.
Paige moved to reach for her phone on top of the coffee table and creased her brows when she saw the unregistered number on the display screen.
"Hello?" Paige said into the phone once she pressed the 'answer' button, shrugging at Emily when she saw the girl's questioning look. "Yeah this is she." Paige continued, her brows creasing further as she listened to the person on the other end of the line while nodding occasionally. "Yeah. I know her. Okay. Okay. Where's this bar again? Yeah. Okay. I'll be there soon. Thanks. And sorry for the trouble." She added before the person ended the call.
"Who was that?" Emily asked when she saw the worry written all over the girl's face.
"He said his name's Danny and that he's a bartender at Doobie's?" Paige answered, staring at the phone in her hand.
"What did he want?" Emily continued, confused.
"For me to come pick up Kayla." Paige revealed, running a hand through her hair warily. "He said she's passed out right now but he took her to the backroom earlier. He saw me listed as her emergency contact person. That's why he called."
"You?" Emily uttered, surprised. "Why not Logan?"
"I have no idea." Paige answered helplessly. "I haven't really spent time with her lately. I've been so busy focusing on my life in UPenn and us that I've somehow neglected her. Jai's going to kill me."
"Don't say that." Emily said, rubbing the girl's back comfortingly. "Come on. Let's go take her home." She continued, getting up and extending a hand. "I know where Doobie's is. Cesca told me."
Paige sighed and took Emily's hand, getting up and leading the way to her bedroom to get her car keys. She wanted to be mad at Kayla for getting drunk again. Have a serious talk with the girl once they get back here and Kayla was sober enough to listen to her. But she couldn't find it in herself to reprimand Jai's sister when she has no idea what's been going on in Kayla's life lately.
"Watch her head!" Emily uttered the warning a little too late and Paige visibly cringed when she heard the thud, indicating that Kayla's head just hit the door frame.
"Sorry." Paige muttered, rubbing the side of the drunken girl's head gingerly. She moved to rest Kayla's head on her shoulder as Emily opened the door to her apartment wider to let them in. "Let's take her to my room."
Emily closed the front door and quickly moved to Kayla's other side so she and Paige could support the girl's dead weight as they walked towards Paige's bedroom, their progress slow as the three of them tried to fit in the narrow hallway. When they finally reached the bedroom, the two girls slowly lowered Kayla on Paige's bed before Emily moved to take off the girl's shoes while Paige pulled back the covers to tuck in the barely conscious girl.
"I'll get a glass of water." Emily offered, heading to the kitchen without waiting for the girl to acknowledge her.
Paige nodded and sat next to Jai's sister, taking a deep breath and brushing a few strands of hair away from the girl's closed eyes.
"Here." Emily said once she returned, handing the glass to Paige.
"Thanks." Paige uttered, giving the girl a grateful smile before returning her attention to Jai's sister. "Kayla. Hey. Come on. Drink this. You can't be dehydrated." She said, nudging the girl lightly. "Come on." She pleaded, supporting the girl's head and guiding Kayla as she sipped some water before lying down on the bed again.
Emily took the glass from Paige and placed it on the bedside table. "Is she going to be okay?" She asked worriedly. "Maybe we should've brought her to the hospital instead."
Paige shook her head. "Danny said Kayla vomited several times already. She just needs to sleep it off." She explained, studying the girl lying on her bed.
"Well can you keep her talking?" Emily continued. "Or is it okay for her to sleep this drunk? She might have alcohol poisoning."
"Can you grab a small towel from the bathroom and rinse it with cold water?" Paige said in reply, her eyes never leaving Kayla.
"Sure." Emily answered, leaving to get what Paige asked her.
"Kayla. Hey. Can you talk?" Paige gently asked.
"Is this my room?" Kayla uttered sleepily.
"No. You're in mine." Paige replied. "You're really wasted tonight, huh?" She continued softly, knowing she can't get mad at the girl. "Can you tell me why you got drunk?"
"I don't want to be here." Kayla answered, curling her body into a fetal position.
"I know. But I can't find your keys so I couldn't take you back to your room." Paige explained. "I don't mind. I'll just sleep on the couch."
"No. I don't want to be here. In this apartment. I've been lying all this time." Kayla confessed to Paige's surprise. "I was fine... living in my dorm room back in Girard and just visiting you once a while. I wanted to go home to Rosewood during weekends to visit my dad. But instead he pushed me away. Told me to look after you for Jai. He doesn't want me around. Nobody does." She added brokenly.
"Kayla..." Paige uttered.
"He kept pushing me away. My dad. I want to be there for him but he won't let me. Instead he chose to live by himself. Then there's you. I know you don't want me around. Not really. But you have no choice and I don't have anywhere else to go." Kayla whispered. "I like you, Paige. Since the day you made me feel that you saw me beyond being Jai's little sister. I've liked you. And I just want the whole world to know that I do. But for you it's always been Emily."
Paige brushed the girl's hair gently, at a loss as to how to respond to Kayla's drunken confession. "Thank you." She whispered earnestly, kissing the girl on the forehead lightly once Kayla fell asleep.
Emily finally moved from her spot in the open doorway and walked over to the other side of the bed to tend to Kayla, wiping the girl's face gently with the wet towel Paige asked her to get.
"I'm gonna stay here and watch her sleep... just to make sure she'll be fine." Paige quietly explained, looking at Emily.
"We'll take turns." Emily offered. "You have an exam tomorrow and you still need to study." She reminded the girl while brushing a few strands of hair away from Kayla's closed eyes. "I'm sorry." She suddenly uttered, surprising Paige. "For being selfish." She continued, now confusing the girl.
"What?" Paige asked, her brows creased.
Emily stared at the sleeping girl. "You and I both know that Kayla more than likes you. And her confession just now. About telling the whole world about it..."
"Do you still want to be with me?" Paige interjected.
"I do." Emily answered earnestly.
"Then that's all that matters. That's all I need to hear." Paige promised. "Em... I want to be with you. Even if it meant sneaking around for now. Because I know that you're trying. I'd rather sneak around than stay away and be seen in public with someone else." She continued, extending one hand to the girl.
Emily smiled faintly. "I don't want to stay away from you too." She admitted, taking the girl's hand and giving it a firm squeeze.
"Yeah. I'll be there soon. My exam's over. Finally." Paige said into her phone as she exited the McNeil Building on Tuesday night and headed towards Spruce Street to get to her car. "We can split the egg rolls, Em. You don't need to get two orders. The exam was fairly easy. I don't need to drown any sorrows tonight." She added, angling her neck to one side and cradling the phone in the crook of her neck to free both hands so she could search for her car keys inside her messenger bag.
"I could definitely get used to your method of reviewing. It's pretty effective." Paige admitted, grinning. "Em, hold on. I have an incoming call." She said when she heard a beep and checked to see who it was. "What's up?" She asked once she answered the other call. "Reese, slow down. No. I haven't seen him. Well did you check with his school?"
Paige creased her brows as she listened to her friend intently. "No. He seemed okay when I spent time with him yesterday. He was chatty. Okay. Yeah. No. Reese, it's fine. I can help you and Billie look for Brian. I'll meet you outside Harrison in a few minutes." She promised before ending the call and returning to Emily.
You have got to be kidding me. First Kayla, now Brian?!
"Hey. That was Reese." Paige said once Emily was back on the line. "They think Brian's missing and I told her I will help look for him. I'm headed to Harrison to meet her." She explained, unlocking the car doors and getting in. "No. Don't cancel dinner. But I might be late for an hour or so. I'm really sorry. Can you head straight to my apartment instead?" She asked, lifting the strap of her bag off her shoulder to place the bag on the passenger seat.
"No don't just sit out in the hallway. There's a spare key under my doormat. Use that to let yourself in. I'll be there as soon as I can." Paige promised. "Yeah. I'll call you once I'm headed back. Bye." She uttered before ending the call and depositing her phone on the passenger seat as well.
Paige quickly buckled her seatbelt and pressed the engine start button, her mind preoccupied with thoughts of Brian. She was too focused on where the boy could've gone and what happened to make him run away that she didn't notice the check engine light as she made her way to Harrison to meet Reese.
Emily stooped down and lifted the doormat in front of Paige's apartment, retrieving the key the girl told her was underneath the mat before moving to unlock the front door. She was about to let herself in when she heard a door open behind her so she turned around to see who it was.
"Kayla." Emily called out when she saw the girl step out into the hallway.
"Em. Hey." Kayla said in greeting. She locked the door behind her and slowly walked over to where Emily stood, trying to hide her embarrassment.
"Where are you headed tonight?" Emily asked cautiously. She saw how worried Paige was last night and she herself was concerned about Jai's sister. The two of them don't want a repeat of what happened. Ever.
"I'm meeting some friends for dinner. Just dinner." Kayla promised, raising her right hand to swear. "I can't apologize enough for what I did. Making you and Paige worry on top of having to take care of me. When I woke up this morning she was sleeping on a chair next to her bed and you were sleeping on the couch."
"Why didn't you talk to either of us about what's been going on?" Emily continued, giving the girl a worried look. "Paige and I would've been here to listen to you. You're like my sister. Even if Jai isn't around anymore you can still talk to me."
"I know. I just thought you and Paige wanted to be alone so I stayed out of the way." Kayla explained. "I know, Em. I've known since the two of you picked me up from Girard to head back to Rosewood for the holiday season." She confessed when she saw Emily's surprise. "I didn't say anything because I was waiting for the two of you to tell me. I swear you don't have anything to worry about when it comes to me. I'm really trying to get over Paige but it's harder than I thought so I need a little more time."
Emily smiled faintly. "I just didn't want you to think that I'm replacing your sister when it hasn't been a year since she died." She admitted. "Sorry."
"I get it." Kayla told the girl reassuringly. "I do. My dad's still having a hard time accepting Jai's death. So I understand why you're still reluctant to let people know. I think a part of you is still attached to her. And there's nothing wrong with that. When you're ready, I know you'll be able to tell people about you and Paige."
"Thanks." Emily uttered, giving Jai's sister a grateful smile.
Kayla nodded. "Listen... I know I promised that I wouldn't do anything about my feelings for Paige. But I was wondering if I could throw a surprise party for her birthday next month?" She asked, giving Emily a hesitant look. "Unless of course you already made plans with her. I'll just throw it on a different day. The weekend probably."
"Um... when's her birthday?" Emily asked, feeling like an idiot for not knowing something that was probably trivial to most people.
"Paige's? So all this time you didn't know?" Kayla said in reply, mildly surprised and at the same time growing uncomfortable. "Um..." She began, contemplating how to answer the girl's question. "It was actually on the day of Jai's funeral." She finally revealed.
Emily felt her stomach drop. "What?" She uttered hoarsely, bits and pieces of what happened that day coming back to her.
She's your best friend. You're supposed to be friends. So where were you? Huh? Answer me!
How dare you call yourself her best friend when you won't even mourn?! You stand there like nothing's wrong. Why won't you mourn? Why won't you feel something? You suck!
You're the worst. Jai deserves better.
"Em... she understood." Kayla hurriedly said, giving the girl a comforting smile when she noticed Emily's nauseated look. "You were grieving and Paige understood why you lashed out at her."
"Still..." Emily uttered, feeling horrible. "Uh... thanks for telling me about it." She added as she racked her brain for ways to make it up to the girl.
Kayla nodded. "Well now that you know, I guess I'm really throwing that surprise party on another day since you're not ready for people to know about the two of you just yet. Don't worry. I don't mind. And I'm sure Paige won't too. Just make sure she has a good day." She added lightly.
"I will." Emily promised.
"Where's Paige by the way?" Kayla asked when she noticed that Emily was about to enter the girl's apartment by herself.
"Just taking care of an emergency but she said she'll be here soon. She told me to wait for her inside." Emily explained, gesturing to the partially opened door.
"Oh. Okay. I'm gonna apologize to her some other time then. I gotta go. Don't look so worried. I still have homework so I promise I won't stay out too late." Kayla continued when she saw the anxiety in Emily's eyes.
"If you need someone to talk to, I'm here. Okay? Paige and I are here for you." Emily told the girl earnestly. "Whatever time of day."
"Yeah. Thanks." Kayla said, moving to hug the other girl loosely before heading for the elevators.
Emily followed Kayla's retreating back for a few seconds before entering Paige's apartment, turning on the hallway light and gently closing the door behind her before heading to the living room. She deposited the paper bag containing their dinner on top of the coffee table before sitting on the couch and placing her shoulder bag next to her. Emily took a deep breath and studied the key in her hand thoughtfully, wishing Paige would come home soon.
"I'm so sorry for the trouble. You drove all the way there for nothing." Reese added apologetically, her voice coming through the speakers in Paige's car.
"Come on, Reese. It wasn't for nothing. I don't mind the drive. I'm just glad he's safe." Paige replied as she steered her car down another local road in the Upper Merion Township, on her way back from driving around the King of Prussia Mall area thinking Billie's brother might have gone there by himself. "I mean he's okay, right? Where did you find him?"
"Yeah. He is. He's fine. He was hiding out in the old woods where Billie and I used to take him camping." Reese answered.
"What do you mean he was hiding out? Why did he run away in the first place?" Paige continued, stepping on the brake to stop at a red light.
"He said he thought if he went away, even if it's just for a few hours, my reason for staying with Billie will be gone and I can finally end things with her." Reese explained, making Paige glance at her phone in surprise.
"What? But I thought you already ended things last night?" Paige asked, her brows creasing. "And why would Brian think he's the reason you're still with Billie?"
"I was going to. But Billie waited until you and Brian showed up before she took a break from the dance rehearsal. I've been sitting in that auditorium for hours waiting for her when you two arrived. I couldn't go through with it after that. Not when Brian was there." Reese added. "So I asked her to meet me today and she agreed but I guess she planned on bringing Brian along. That's how she found out he was missing. You know how smart that kid is. He realized what Billie was doing and what I wanted to do but couldn't so he went out, as he put it, for a few hours to give me time to talk to Billie alone."
Paige frowned. "But that's ridiculous. Are you staying with Billie because of Brian?" She asked, glancing at her phone before shifting the gear to drive when the light turned green.
"He's not the entire reason. But yeah. He's part of it. I knew if I ended things with Billie there's a chance I won't be able to spend time with Brian anymore and I love that kid." Reese admitted. "Billie might not take the break up too well and she might ask Brian to stay away from me. I can't do anything about that. So I stayed. For his sake. Billie could barely look after him with her dance classes at Drexel and their mom is working late hours all the time. I can't imagine not being there for him." She continued. "But eventually I made a decision to end things on Valentine's Day. I didn't get a chance to do it though because Billie brought Brian along. I spent my night with the two of them instead."
"So that's what you did instead of staying holed up in your room." Paige commented as she took a left after she passed a gas station and found herself driving down a deserted road. "Did you finally break up with Billie tonight?"
"What do you think?" Reese answered wryly. "She just spent several hours looking for her brother. I'm not gonna tell her I want out. Maybe tomorrow or the next. But not tonight. They're headed home and I'm headed back to Harrison. Thanks for the help, newbie. Sorry I ruined your dinner plans with Emily."
"You didn't ruin anything. She completely understood. She was worried too. We'll just reheat the food or something. I already called her earlier and told her I'm on my way back." Paige explained, checking the time on her dashboard clock.
"Still... tell her I'm sorry." Reese insisted. "And let me make it up to the two of you on Spring Break. Find me and I'll buy you and Emily drinks."
"Um... thanks but I think we'll pass." Paige replied, smiling wryly. "I'm pretty sure the plane ticket to Miami costs more than any drink you're willing to buy us when we get there."
"No need to ride a plane, newbie. Turns out I'm headed to Cancun as well." Reese confessed, surprising Paige.
"So now you're stalking me?" Paige teased, letting out a short laugh.
"What?! I'm not!" Reese exclaimed indignantly.
"Suddenly you're going to Cancun? Yeah right." Paige uttered as she took another left.
"Hey it wasn't planned! And it's not just me! We couldn't find a fourth person to join us in Catalina and Lori's brother found a sweet deal, as he would like to call it, in Cancun." Reese explained hurriedly. "Group of eight to ten in two rooms but for the price of one. Apparently it's a newly-opened hotel so they're using the Spring Break crowd to promote the place. Since we're badly in need of a fourth person and they needed three more, we decided to head to Cancun. Lori's brother said he and his friends didn't mind if us girls get the other room and the five of them share in the other one."
"Whatever. I still think you're stalking me." Paige said stubbornly, stopping at an intersection.
"Think what you want. You're just gonna have to-"
"Gonna have to what?" Paige asked, amused. "Reese?" She uttered when there was no response. She took her eyes off the road and stared at the phone on the console next to her seat, wondering why the call ended abruptly. "Crap." She muttered when she saw that her phone was dead. "Crap." She repeated when a flashing light on her dashboard caught her attention and she noticed the check engine light blinking ominously in the dark.
That can't be good. Paige thought, choosing to pull over to the side of the deserted road than risk driving with the sign flashing at her. She turned on the hazard lights and grabbed a small flashlight from inside the glove compartment before popping the hood and alighting from the vehicle to check what's wrong.
Paige ran a hand through her hair in frustration when she realized that she had no idea what to look for as she shined the small light aimlessly inside the hood of her SUV. She wasn't a mechanic and she's no expert in engine problems of hybrid vehicles. She looked up and down the deserted road, contemplating what to do next. Her phone's dead so calling for help wasn't an option right now.
Get help. Paige decided before closing the hood of her car. She grabbed her messenger bag from the passenger seat and locked the doors, walking briskly back the way she came when she remembered that she saw a gas station earlier. She checked the time on her watch and groaned. Hopefully there's a working pay phone there. She didn't want Emily to worry. With a determined look, Paige broke into a run, praying she could reach her destination in record time.
Emily tried to control the bouncing of her legs as she fought the urge to get up and start pacing the length of the apartment. Paige called her almost two hours ago saying she was on her way home but since then Emily hasn't heard from the girl. She took a deep breath and grabbed her phone from the coffee table, checking to see if she missed a text from Paige but there was none. She quickly dialed the girl's number and groaned when the call went straight to voicemail.
She's fine. Emily reassured herself. Paige is fine. She's just running really late.
Resting her head on her hands, Emily took another deep breath and reached for the remote control for the TV from the coffee table when she noticed it lying next to the paper bag that contained their now cold dinner. She quickly turned it on and searched for a news program, biting her bottom lip anxiously as she switched from one channel to another, not knowing what to look for, just browsing for any news.
Paige, just text me where you are. Emily thought, running a hand through her hair wearily. Please.
Unable to fight it any longer, Emily dropped the remote and reached for her phone again. She stood up and dialed Paige's number, pacing the length of the room as she held the phone to her ear.
"Paige. Hey. Where are you? You said you were on your way home." Emily said when she heard the beep, trying to sound calm and not whiny. "That was two hours ago. So can you please call me? Or text. I just need to know you're safe. Okay?"
Emily ended the call and ran a hand through her hair again, pacing the length of the room and checking the time on her watch. She glanced at the TV screen and swallowed hard, stopping in her tracks when she saw a news report about a massive pile up in some interstate which involved several vehicles.
She's fine. Paige is okay. Emily repeated to herself. So why hasn't she called?
...Coming home to you is the best part of my day...
...I'm not leaving you again. If all it takes is one person not giving up on you to make you open your heart again then I am going to keep coming back...
...You're not gonna lose me...
...As long as you want me around I'm not going anywhere...
"Paige. Where are you?" Emily muttered, her hands starting to feel clammy. She tried to take a deep breath to calm herself but instead found herself clutching her chest, sinking to the cold, hard floor as she struggled to breathe.
Paige quickly alighted from the elevator when it opened on her floor and gave a courteous nod to one of her neighbors as she walked past him. She checked the time on her watch before taking out the keys to her apartment, praying Emily was still awake and wasn't too worried. She told the girl that she was on her way home but that was more than two hours ago and the gas station had no working pay phone so she wasn't able to reach Emily. She knew she was in serious trouble and she would have to find a way to make it up to the girl. Inserting the key into the lock, Paige turned the knob and entered her apartment, about to greet Emily and launch into a detailed explanation as to why she's terribly late when the sight before her made her blood run cold.
"Em!" Paige called out frantically when she saw the girl on the floor, clutching her chest. "What's wrong?!" She asked, telling herself not to panic but not knowing what to do. Her phone was dead and she couldn't find Emily's to dial 911.
Think. Paige urged herself. It was highly unlikely that the girl was suffering from a heart attack but Emily was obviously having difficulty breathing. Think. Paige repeated to herself. She scanned their surroundings and decided to remove the cartons of food from inside the paper bag that was sitting on top of the coffee table, trying to control her trembling as she took out everything and placed them on the table instead.
"Breathe in here." Paige instructed, placing the bag over Emily's nose and mouth once she was by the girl's side. She moved Emily's hair away from her face, watching the girl anxiously as she struggled to breathe. When Paige spotted Emily's phone clutched in the other girl's hand, she quickly leaned forward to take it. "I'll call nine-one-one." She explained when Emily refused to let it go. "You need to go to the hospital." She continued when Emily shook her head while still breathing in the paper bag.
"Where have you been?!" Emily gasped when she could finally talk, the tears brimming in her eyes unable to hide her fear.
"I ran into some car trouble on my way back. I'm sorry." Paige said earnestly.
"Ever heard of calling or texting?" Emily continued, the frustration evident in her voice as she wiped her eyes.
"My phone died while I was talking to Reese." Paige gently explained.
"I was worried sick!" Emily exclaimed.
"I know. I'm sorry. It won't happen again." Paige promised.
"You said you were about to head home. Thirty minutes." Emily reminded the girl tearfully.
"I know." Paige repeated, moving a hand to touch Emily but the girl pulled away. "Em, I said I was sorry. What's this really about?" She asked, frowning when she remembered Emily's state when she arrived a few minutes ago. "Is this about Jai?" She guessed, starting to realize something as she watched the girl cry.
Emily abruptly turned her head to face the girl. "What? No. How could you ask me that? Not everything between us is about Jai. I just wish you called or texted or something. Stupid car trouble." She muttered, trying to get her pulse to return to normal.
"Em, I left my car on the side of the road and had to run back the way I came to find a gas station to call you and find someone to help me figure out what's wrong with the car. But the pay phone wasn't working and the gas attendant said the mechanic went home so he helped me tow the car back to the gas station instead. Then I asked if he could drive me to the nearest bus stop and I had to wait for thirty minutes for the bus to arrive." Paige explained patiently.
"Don't leave me again." Emily uttered, letting Paige see how terrified she is.
Paige brushed a strand of hair away from the girl's eyes and sat on the floor. "Em... this is about Jai." She said softly.
"Fine. It's about her but not really. Because Jai died. Okay? She died. And then you were there and you said these things to me and then we started this thing and now I'm scared. You made me scared." Emily confessed, choking back a sob.
"Because I said things." Paige repeated.
"Yes." Emily answered emotionally, trying to dry her eyes.
"And now you care." Paige continued.
"Of course I care! You made me care!" Emily exclaimed, her throat constricting.
"Okay. Come here." Paige said, moving closer so Emily could lean her body against her. "I'm not going anywhere. I promise." She whispered, depositing a reassuring kiss on the girl's head. "I'm right here. Okay? I'm here." She repeated, rubbing Emily's back gently. "You're going to be fine." She promised, holding the girl closer.
Emily nodded wordlessly and rested her head on the crook of Paige's neck, letting the girl comfort her. She didn't realize it until now. But ever since Jai died, having Paige in her life was the only thing that made sense and she didn't know what her life would be like if the girl wasn't around. She still didn't know what she felt for Paige. But right now, as the two of them sat on the cold, hard floor next to each other, the rise and fall of Paige's chest reassuring her that the girl is safe and alive, Emily realized she couldn't imagine her days without being with Paige. She didn't want to.